That's all she wrote

Another trade deadline has passed, and the Capitals were surprisingly quiet.  Despite Alex Ovechkin's resurgence, the smart money says his best years are behind him, which means there is time for two, maybe three more runs before a serious roster shakedown has to occur.

However, with MacLellan on an expiring contract, one would imagine a major shakeup, an institutional move, like the Erik Karlsson rumors that were swirling over the past several days.

But with no apparent Hail Mary to save his job, the Capitals quietly slipped through the deadline with two moves for depth defensemen.

Not that we are mad about this.  There is no sense in mortgaging the future failures to fail again this season.

More to come...?

According to TSN's Bob McKenzie, the Capitals are not done tinkering.  That is not to promise a deal is in the works, but with a roster that is far from polished, a move or two may better position the team to fall short to Pittsburgh yet again.

We cannot envision a scenario in which the Caps make a major move on defense.  With tight cap space, there are only two avenues to cutting a deal: trading Brooks Orpik or Braden Holtby.  While I have advocated for a Holtby trade in the past, and will continue to do so, first place teams do not trade their starting goaltenders at the trade deadline. He would be better moved in the offseason (which will likely increase the value of whatever draft picks are needed in order to bring in an Ekman-Larsson or Karlsson caliber defenseman).

Note: This is not a condemnation of Holtby's talent.  He is still a first rate perennial all-star, and we expect him to continue to be for the foreseeable future.  But his salary hit limits the team's options moving forward, and with a seriously stacked goaltending pipeline, everything has to be considered - especially the haul a record setting goalkeeper should bring.

Which leaves Orpik.  The odd man out on defense, Orpik has had a famously bad season.  While never a driver of play, Orpik's main assets have always been his physicality, shot-blocking, and leadership.  His corsi numbers are among the league's worst (along with defensive stalwarts Aaron Ness and Taylor Chorney).  His foot speed has degraded to laughable.   He is still a fantastic hitter, ranks 5th overall in blocked shots, and he has served as both an on-ice leader and mentor for the two defensive rookies.

All things considered, Orpik's shortcomings cannot be overcome by possession gurus Justin Williams and Marcus Johansson - since they are no longer in DC.

With a stripped away squad, the team's weaknesses are that much more prominent.  The Capitals have been dead last in shots for most of the season.  Brooks Orpik is a major reason for this.  If the Caps can work out a deal, even involving giving up a prospect or mid-round draft pick, to dump Orpik's salary, it will go a long way towards a proper retool.

(We would also like to see either Alex Chiasson or Devante Smith-Pelly traded, and/or Chandler Stephenson sent to the minors.  This team is just too easy to play against, and adding a rat who can chip in offensively would be a minor but effective upgrade to the bottom six.  Stephenson is being underutilized on the 4th line, but is not good enough to usurp one of the current top nine.)

More defensive shuffling in DC

Earlier today, the Capitals lost Taylor Chorney to Columbus on the waiver wire.

The team swiftly responded in blockbuster fashion, acquiring Jakub Jerabek (who?) from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a 2019 5th round pick.

With a very small sample size- 25 games- it is near impossible to judge this deal on its merits, but Jerabek has been a positive possession player on a really bad team.  He also strung together a modest three game point streak, compiling his career to date offensive totals, capped by an assist on the go-ahead goal in January 19th's win over the Caps.

We are not sure what to expect from a third pair defenseman who was unable to stick on a team with a -37 goal differential, but he is probably an upgrade over Chorney.

We grade this trade: C

Another domino falls

Another ideal, though probably unrealistic, target has fallen: Erik Gudbranson has officially re-signed with the Vancouver Canucks for three years, $12 million.  Gudbranson was probably never on the Capitals radar, but he should have been, since he could shore up the defense at a reasonable cap hit.  I guess it is a moot point now, though. 

On to the next...

Capitals acquire defensive depth

The first domino has fallen in the Capitals 2018 playoff preparations.  This morning, shortly following their road match in Chicago, the team traded a third round draft pick to the Blackhawks for Michal Kempny. 

While on paper this may not look like much, bringing in someone to (hopefully) replace Taylor Chorney as the 7th man is an apparent improvement.  With no Nate Schultz to fill in, it was imperative to acquire someone else capable of stepping in in case of injury and to push the current squad for playing time.  Chorney is a serviceable replacement, but has been buried in Corsi and Fenwick throughout his career, despite favorable zone starts and playing for some seriously dominant Capitals teams. 

RMNB, like usual, has a great write-up including a strong analysis of Kempny's numbers. 

The pick going the other way is the higher of two third-round picks the Capitals have this year.  With both Washington and Toronto expected to make the playoffs, this should fall in the 77-93 range.  According to an older analysis by TSN's Scott Cullen, whoever the 'Hawks has around a 26% chance of becoming an NHL regular.  This makes the price reasonable for a pending UFA with a cap hit that still provides flexibility. 

We grade this trade: B+